MANKATO -- Rochester Century made too many mistakes against a veteran Mankato West football team and lost 41-6 in the Big Nine Conference season opener for both teams Friday night.
Century mishandled two punt attempts in the first half and Mankato West cashed in both for short scoring drives inside the Panthers' 10 yard line. The Scarlets surged to a 28-0 lead by halftime.
"They have some really good skill people," said new Century head coach Jon Vik. "They had a really good halfback (Dan Lorenz) who got injured later in the game, and their quarterback (Jordan Stolp) throws just a great pass.
"On a whole our defense played a good game, but they beat us on three fades (pass paterns) to the endzone."
The Panthers struggled to sustain offensive drives, gaining only eight first downs and 126 total yards. Isaac Odom was the leading rusher with 39 yards on 11 carries. Senior quarterback Justin Grant completed 10-of-35 passes for 75 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions.
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Grant connected with Ben Waldron on a play-action pass for Century's only score, a 6-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Vik said the Panthers will need to rectify some of their mistakes to compete with Rochester John Marshall next Friday at Century.
"We talked about it on the bus ride back," Vik said. "I told the kids it's not where you start the season but where you end it. We're going to get better."
scoring by quarters
Century 0 0 6 0 -- 6
; Mankato West 14 14 0 13 -- 41
; individual statistics
Rushing
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Cent -- Isaac Odom 11-39, Peter Miller 2-8, Justin Grant 1-9, Nate Bauer 1-5.
Passing
Cent -- Grant 35 attempts, 10 completes, 75 yards, 1 TD, 2 int.
Receiving
Cent -- Andre Hernandez 4-46, Bobby Osborne 1-3, David Hinton 3-14, Nate Bauer 1-6, Ben Waldron 1-6.
